


One date

by PhoenixTat



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Swan Queen Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 23:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1759723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixTat/pseuds/PhoenixTat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now here she was, parked in front of Granny’s diner, ready to hijack the Charming’s announcement of their pregnancy with the announcement of hers and Emma’s relationship. <em>Fake</em> relationship. All she could think was “Thank God Henry is spending the night with Ava and Nicholas”. Giving Snow an aneurysm was one thing, confusing their son was another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One date

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Swan Queen Week](http://swanqueenweek.tumblr.com) of Summer 2014
> 
> For the sake of this fic, let’s pretend they all got back safely from Neverland, no Peter Pan re-curse and no 3B nonsense.  
> The gang has been living in Storybrooke (somewhat) peacefully without any surprise visits from characters of big blockbusters and whatnot. 
> 
> A very special thanks to the wonderful nirky (ohthesefeelingz) for her support and beta work :)

This was a terrible idea. Completely insane really. Of course, it was Emma Swan’s idea. At first Regina had laughed. And then they had even joked about it together. She never thought they would actually go through with it. She was sure the Savior would call it off. But now here they were and it was too late to back down. That woman would be the death of her. Or, she would end up murdering her. Yes, that was more likely. She was the Evil Queen after all wasn’t she? Regina sighed. Who was she kidding? She stopped being the Evil Queen a long time ago. All those years with the cursed townsfolk had mellowed her out. Snow White was a shy school teacher with a terrible sense of fashion and her prince Charming was lying unconscious in a hospital bed. There was no need for the Evil Queen anymore. So she became the Mayor and took to managing that small town. It was mostly boring really. But then she adopted Henry. _Her little Prince_. And she became a Mom. Regina smiled, remembering Henry’s first words and his first steps; she was finally living her happy ending. Then Henry got his hands on that book and ran away, only to bring back the most infuriating woman Regina had ever met. The Evil Queen might have made an appearance or two during Emma’s first year in her town, or maybe it was more the cold and calculating Madame Mayor?

 

Ever since they got back from Neverland however, things had been different. After traipsing through the jungle with the Charming clan, they had reached a peace of sorts, buried the hatchet if you will. They were all stuck in Storybrooke, they had to adapt; there was no sense in reliving the past and rekindling old feuds. Now that the townsfolk had dual sets of memories, some were glad to live out the rest of their days in a realm of indoor plumbing and electricity; others actually wanted to return to the Enchanted Forest and its old ways. And so, with her reinstated as Mayor, and Emma resuming her Sheriff’s position, they worked together to make sure everyone coexisted as peacefully as possible. They had also become quite the co-parenting team. No more “he’s my son” fights. After all they had been through in Neverland, they came to an agreement, Henry alternately sleeping in his childhood home and at the Charming loft. He sometimes even spent the weekend with Neal. All in all, Henry was happy and that is what mattered most to her. Between their work and their son, her and Emma had become somewhat... friends. Well, they weren’t enemies anymore. There were still arguments of course, and teasing and sarcasm, but it was... pleasant. So yes, perhaps _friends_ was the appropriate term. Until a few days ago that is.

 

Emma had showed up at her home at midnight, on a week where Henry was staying at the loft no less, only to barge in as soon as she opened the door, and proceeded to rant about her mother. It had taken awhile before Regina understood what had prompted this outburst. Apparently, Snow had just told Emma she was pregnant. That was when the Sheriff sat down next to her on her study couch and in a small voice recounted what had happened in the Cave of Echoes. At that point, Regina had gotten up to get them both glasses of cider. After a few gulps, Emma had started talking again, about how her parents were not so subtly nudging her towards Neal at every opportunity, with talks of Happy Endings and True Love. At the first mention of “finding each other”, Regina had asked her to stop. Somewhere between their third and fourth glass, Emma had suggested that the two of them should date, as some sort of strange revenge prank on her parents. So Regina had laughed, because what else was she supposed to do really? But their snickering about Saviors and Evil Queens soon turned to talks of poetic irony, and birth moms and adoptive moms and...

 

Now here she was, parked in front of Granny’s diner, ready to hijack the Charming’s announcement of their pregnancy with the announcement of hers and Emma’s relationship. _Fake_ relationship. All she could think was “ _Thank God Henry is spending the night with Ava and Nicholas_ ”. Giving Snow an aneurysm was one thing, confusing their son was another.

“Ready to do this?” Emma asked from the driver’s seat.     

Regina just nodded and exited the bug, waiting for Emma to join her. A few feet from the door, Emma grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers easily, and with one last glance, they entered the diner.

 

As the bell jingled and people turned to see the new arrivals, all conversations and movements seemed to die down. It was... funny really. There were a lot of wide eyes and gaping mouths, which they had expected, but Ruby was wearing a knowing smirk, and Archie gave them a sweet smile and discreet thumbs up. Regina felt Emma’s resolve faltering so she tightened her grip and marched the Savior to her parents. Now that they had started this, they were damn well going to see it through!

“Snow, Charming”, she nodded, “Congratulations on the baby.”

“I... Thank you, Regina”, Snow stuttered, “I’m... I’m glad you could join us. Emma?”

The blonde seemed frozen in place, unsure how to proceed. Regina had to refrain from rolling her eyes. After all her brash talk, it seemed like the Sheriff couldn’t walk the walk. A strong squeeze to her fingers seemed to shake her out of her stupor.

“Uh... I... I’m... We...”

“We’ve been dating”, Regina cut in, “for a little over a month now.”

“Yes. Ever since we came back from Neverland, things have been good between us. We’ve been friends and now... well, now we’re more than friends,” Emma winced a little at her awkward explanation. Regina could not contain her eye roll at that one.

“Well, congratulations are in order to you two as well, I guess,” David finally seemed to regain his senses. He shrugged at Snow’s flustered glance his way and smiled back at Emma. “A toast?”

“Uh right. I’ll go get us some drinks.”

 

The Savior started making her way to the counter, only to realize she was dragging Regina along with her, the two of them not having let go of the other’s hand yet.

“So that was...” Emma started, but was interrupted by Ruby, Kathryn and Tinkerbell swarming them. Kathryn promptly engulfed Regina in a quick hug with whispers of “I’m happy for you”, while Ruby gave Emma a pat on the back and wiggled her eyebrows.

“So how did it happen?” Tinkerbell asked excitedly.

“Yes, we would all like to know”, Snow joined in, “and why did you feel like you had to keep it from us, Emma?”

“Uh...”

“I know we have a complicated history but it’s all in the past now. Regina saved the town and we all worked together to rescue Henry. I mean, I can’t say I saw it coming, and she probably isn’t my first choice for you, but it does make sense in a way...” Snow rambled on.

“We were worried about you now that things have settled. We were only pushing you towards Neal because we thought you were scared to open yourself up to love again. It does seem that two of Henry’s parents got together after all though.” David added with a grin.

 

Well, that had backfired spectacularly. Of all the possible outcomes of their little scheme, that one had never crossed their minds. They thought they would toy with the Charmings a little bit; flaunt their happiness in Snow’s face and make her squirm, before admitting to the ruse and freeing her from her misery. What was wrong with these people? The Evil Queen had _seduced_ their daughter and they were happy for them? Oh God! Now she was stuck! Bound to the Savior forever! The Charmings and their infuriating optimism would never buy that this whole thing had been a joke. What was she going to do?

“Can I talk to you privately for a minute?” And without waiting for a reply, Regina dragged Emma into a hallway, far from prying ears.

 

“We have to break up,” she declared immediately.

“What? On the day we made our relationship public? Way to give people whiplash, Regina.”

“Miss Swan! May I remind you that this was a hoax meant to upset your parents and get them to stop their matchmaking?”

“Well, it worked. Not the upset part but the Neal part.”

“Yes and now they believe we are truly a couple.”

At Emma’s silence, Regina added, “Do I really need to remind you that we are in fact not a couple, Miss Swan? How do you intend to clear that up with the Charmings?

“Well, I...” Emma hesitated.

“You do plan on clearing that up don’t you?” Regina glared.

“Look, everyone’s so happy. Maybe we should just let things be for now and when people move on to the next piece of gossip, we can break up or whatever.”

“I...” Regina took a deep breath, closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then opened her eyes again, “Emma, people will not simply “move on”. Snow will want family dinners and details of our relationship... and what about Henry? Are you suggesting we lie to him as well?”

“Okay, so maybe we didn’t think this through but...”

“We? I specifically remember telling you this was a bad idea”, Regina huffed.

“Hey! You still went through with it! Don’t blame _me_ because...”

“Lower your voice! People will think we’re arguing.”

“Well we are arguing. And so what, couples argue sometimes, it’s not any of their business anyway,” Emma countered, but in a calmer tone.

“We are not a couple,” Regina crossed her arms and held the Savior’s stare neither of them willing to be the first to look down.

 

They both broke their gaze however at the sound of heels clicking coming their way. Emma abruptly grabbed Regina by the shoulders and pulled her closer, forcing the brunette to grip the Sheriff’s waist in order to keep her balance. She felt Emma adjust her hold into what seemed like a comforting hug. Not too tight, yet intimate, the Savior’s nose brushing her hair and a whispered plea of _“just go with it”_ in her ear. Emma kept one arm high, her palm lightly grasping the brunette’s nape, the other dropping lower, fingers splaying on her back. Recovering from her initial shock, Regina clasped her hands on the Savior’s lower back, her arms snuggly encircling the blonde’s waist. It was... nice, as far as hugs went. Not that Regina had a lot of practice. Besides Henry, there weren’t that many people she was close enough with to hug on a regular basis. Hugging her son was very different from hugging his other mother however. For one thing, Emma was taller, which meant that the blonde’s cheek was resting against the top of her hair, while her own chin was nestled in the crook of the Savior’s neck. Being in the Sheriff’s arms felt... warm.   

 

“Oh! We were just wondering where you two had run off to” Tinkerbell said from the end of the hallway, interrupting Regina’s musings.

Emma slowly broke off their embrace, but kept her arms around the brunette, “We’ll be right there”, she assured.

“Classic diversion technique. It’s like in every spy movie ever. Except it’s usually a kiss, but I figured if I had tried that, you would probably turn me into a toad or something. A hug seemed safer,” Emma explained, her cheeks flushing slightly, once Tinkerbell had turned away.

“Not a toad, dear. I find them unsavoury”, Regina countered after a beat, “A puppy perhaps.”

Emma chuckled at that, then teased, “Because you find me adorable?”

After a non-committal shrug, Regina added, “You can let go of me now.”

“Oh yeah, right. Sorry”, Emma’s blush returned, “So can we keep up the charade? Just for tonight at least. I know I wanted to annoy Mary Margaret, but I don’t think I can go through with ruining her evening now. Just... Just one night. Please?”

Regina sighed, wondering why she kept agreeing to go along with the Savior’s whims, “Very well, _one_ night.”

“Thank you,” Emma exhaled in relief.

After a quick once over of the blonde standing before her, Regina added, “We should consider revisiting that kiss idea when we have an audience. _That_ might shake your mother out of her complacency.”

At Emma’s dumbfounded look, Regina smirked and started heading back towards the diner’s main room. “Are you coming?” She called over her shoulder.

“Yeah. Right behind you.”

 

The rest of the evening ran pretty smoothly after that. They had expected an interrogation, albeit with more yelling and tears, so they had concocted a back-story for their relationship; a back-story they were quickly realizing was not detailed enough to placate the curiosity of the other diner patrons however, and they were being forced to improvise. Emma had suddenly regained her confidence, easily spinning tales of their first few dates and anecdotes of their time together. Regina was impressed, and as soon as their audience dwindled, questioned her partner-in-crime about this talent of hers.

“Bails bond person, remember? I often had to make-up a story on the spot to explain my presence while tracking down bail jumpers.” Emma winked at her, “I’ll get us another round”, she added. The Savior then lightly brushed her lips in a gentle kiss on Regina’s cheek before sauntering towards the counter.

Well then. The Sheriff was getting way too comfortable in her role. Regina narrowed her eyes, as she watched Neal approach the other woman. If that was how Emma was going to play this, then she was...

 

“Can I join you?” Regina’s thoughts were interrupted by Archie, gesturing at the empty seat in front of her.

“Of course, Dr. Hopper.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing, with all these changes. You seem happy. How is Henry adapting to the situation?”

“Oh... he... he’s doing well. He’s a very resilient boy”, Regina stammered.

“Yes, that he is”, Archie smiled, “You know Henry always did speak very highly of the times you three spend together.”

“He... he has?”

“Yes. After his ordeal in Neverland, he’s really embraced the fact that you’re _both_ his mothers. I can’t say I’m surprised he’s pleased that the two people he loves most have found love with each other.”

“I... Thank you, Dr. Hopper.”

Archie gently patted her hand and stood to rejoin Marco, just as Emma was coming back to her table, with a glass of wine and a pint of beer.    

  

“You’ll never believe what just happened! Neal just congratulated me on our relationship; something about how he was glad I found happiness. He also apologised for his advances, said he only did that because he thought I was single and still had feelings for him and that maybe we owed it to ourselves and Henry to see if there was something there. Maybe I’ve been too harsh on him. I guess between the Enchanted Forest’s fascination with love and 28 years of an obsession with romantic comedies, Mary Margaret really turned into a relentless matchmaker, yeah? Hey, are you okay?” Emma stopped her tirade, noticing Regina’s faraway look, “What happened? Did someone say something to you?”

“No. Well yes. Dr. Hopper. He believes Henry will be happy if you and I are... together.”

“Oh”, Emma seemed lost in thought for a minute then smiled, “You know, the kid’s been calling our Friday dinners family time.”

“He has?”

 “Yeah. And when you think about it, we do sometimes act like divorced parents, and I guess every kid would be glad to see their parents get back together.”

“Divorced parents”, Regina scoffed, “Really Emma?”

“Well yeah, with the alternate custody and the arguments about proper breakfast foods.”

Regina rolled her eyes at that statement, “I hope this is not another one of your attempts at trying to convince me bear claws constitute a nutritious meal.”   

“Wouldn’t dream of it”, Emma quickly replied, “Besides, if it was, you would probably rescind your dinner invitations,” she added with a grin.

Regina pondered the Sheriff’s answer, “I would still invite you. These dinners have become somewhat of a tradition, and... I quite enjoy them.”

“Me too,” Emma’s smile grew wider.“Kinda funny how everyone seems to think we make sense, huh? As a couple, I mean.”

“Hmmm.”

 “I mean yeah, Leroy asked me if you had put a spell on me, and Whale has been creepily leering at us for half the night. But the people that matter are happy for us. My parents, and Kathryn and Archie. Granny even said that it was about time!”

Regina had to chuckle at that, “She always did speak her mind.”

“So what do you think?”

“About what?”

“About this. About us,” Emma clarified, gesturing between the two of them.

“I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“Do you think they’re right? Do you think there is something there? And that maybe we owe it to ourselves to find out?”

“Are you repeating Baelfire’s words to me?” 

“Maybe. And you’re avoiding the question.” When Regina stayed silent, Emma added, “It’s kinda the same situation though. Like David said, Henry’s parents, coming together.”

“What are you saying?”

“What I’m asking, Regina, is would you maybe consider going to dinner with me? Just the two of us. Like a date. A _real_ date.”

Regina faltered slightly under Emma’s intense gaze but recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, “Did you orchestrate this whole charade to get me to go out with you?”

“What?! You mean somehow get the whole town to approve of our relationship before it even started?” Emma gaped, “Come on Regina, out of the two of us, I’m not the master manipulator.”

“True, dear. Contrary to what your last name implies, you have all the grace and subtlety of a chainsaw. You must get it from your father.” Regina smirked.

“If you’re still upset about your apple tree, I’ve apologized for that. Repeatedly. Even though you kinda totally deserved it at the time, seeing as...” Emma cut her rant short, noticing the gleam in Regina’s eyes, “And you’re still avoiding my question, _Madame Mayor_.”

For a second, it seemed like Regina would continue with the teasing banter, but instead, she clasped her fingers together and said, “Fine, _Sheriff_. One date. But if it doesn’t go well, I am breaking off this fake relationship and you’ll have to explain everything to your parents.”

Emma’s smile lit up her face. “Okay then. One date.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
